Paula C. WestonWas It a Dream, or Not? The other night, I drifted off while watching my favorite cinematic adaptation of the Charles Dickens’ novel A Christmas Carol, the 1951 version entitled Scrooge, adapted by Noel Langley, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Alatair Sim in the most definitive performance ever of the title role. Although … Read more
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas…Circa 1981 There are six inches of snow on the ground in Flint, Mich., and the weather reports call for uninterrupted cold for the foreseeable future. When the snows first fell two weeks ago in my new hometown, I grumbled as though I’d moved north from the deep … Read more
The Sky Is Falling! I suppose I should be writing some sort of feel-good Thanksgiving column about what each team should be thankful for, as I have attempted with little success in years past. I’m sure that there are plenty of CCHA-related things for which to be grateful, but I’ve seen so much mediocre hockey … Read more
Sunday was the three-month anniversary of my move from Columbus, Ohio, to Flint, Mich. Three short months, and yet I feel as though I’ve been here forever. Perhaps that’s a side effect of moving from one state to another to begin a job immediately. Of course, one glance around my apartment lets any visitor know … Read more
Sunday was the three-month anniversary of my move from Columbus, Ohio, to Flint, Mich. Three short months, and yet I feel as though I’ve been here forever. Perhaps that’s a side effect of moving from one state to another to begin a job immediately. Of course, one glance around my apartment lets any visitor know … Read more
Sometimes, when one team has another’s number there’s nothing the dominating team can do to lose. Outshot 41-21 on the road and down a goal before the game was a minute old, the Alaska Nanooks scored two quirky third period goals to beat Ferris State, 3-2, to extend their unbeaten streak against the Bulldogs to … Read more
As Firsts Go, This Wasn’t Bad The Western Michigan Broncos finally earned their first CCHA win of the season in the most improbable of places — Yost Ice Arena. “We were extremely pleased with getting the win at Yost Arena on Friday,” said WMU head coach Jim Culhane. You don’t say, Coach. Really? True freshman … Read more
Checking the Planetary Alignments Last weekend, the three ranked CCHA teams playing league games didn’t fare as well as they’d hoped. Michigan split with Alaska in Fairbanks, giving the Nanooks just their seventh win in this all-time series. Ferris State took three points from Miami in Oxford, having “lost” the tie following Friday’s shootout but … Read more
I’m living in Flint, Mich. – and I love it. After years of deliberation, I decided to put myself on the academic job market last January and I’ve landed at Mott Community College in Flint. Sure, I’d seen Roger & Me before I applied for the job. Yes, I know that Flint has lost over … Read more
I’m living in Flint, Mich. – and I love it. After years of deliberation, I decided to put myself on the academic job market last January and I’ve landed at Mott Community College in Flint. Sure, I’d seen Roger & Me before I applied for the job. Yes, I know that Flint has lost over … Read more
Two for One When you think of a one-two punch in college hockey, you’re usually thinking of linemates who deliver. But what about goalmates who knock them out — or aside, away or back? In the CCHA, six teams are currently rotating goalies on a weekly basis and none with more success than Nebraska-Omaha. Yes, … Read more
Sometimes, one team’s trash is another team’s treasure. In beating the Ohio State Buckeyes 6-1 tonight after squeaking by them 4-3 Friday, the Michigan Wolverines found a few gems. Sophomore goaltender Bryan Hogan played 50:35 minutes of scoreless hockey. His classmate, Louie Caporusso, netted two power-play goals. Senior Travis Turnbull scored his first of the … Read more
Ohio State battled back from a two goal deficit to tie Michigan at the end of two, but Tim Miller’s fluky goal at 13:38 in the third gave the Wolverines the single score they needed to defeat the Buckeyes, 4-3, in UM’s hotly contested CCHA home opener. “Ohio State outplayed us for two periods, and … Read more
Talk About Scary What a perfect time for Halloween — less than a week before a hotly-contested U.S. presidential election and after three full weeks of college hockey. Given how the season has begun for the CCHA, which would you say is scarier? In the early going this season, CCHA fans have witnessed more than … Read more
There’s a youth movement afoot at Western Michigan, where head coach Jim Culhane is trying to instill a new spirit — and doing it with a distinct group of freshmen. Paula C. Weston reports.
On the strength of two quick, late second-period goals and in front of another solid defensive performance, the Miami RedHawks beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 3-2, to sweep the weekend series in South Bend. “Notre Dame’s a great team,” said Miami head coach Enrico Blasi. “We played them this weekend knowing that it was … Read more
An Ugly Coincidence This is unreal. After beginning the season on a sobering note last week with news of the assault that Michigan junior defenseman Steve Kampfer suffered and the suspension by the Wolverine football team of player Mike Milano while the incident is being investigated, I thought we could return to the lighter side … Read more
With two power-play goals within 16 seconds in the opening minutes of the final period, the Michigan State Spartans beat the UMass-Lowell River Hawks, 2-1, rebounding after a 3-0 loss Thursday. “We’ve had a lot of big wins here over the last three years,” said MSU head coach Rick Comley, “but this one for this … Read more
An Unsettling Start Longtime readers and CCHA fans know that I like to start the season with a column that’s more on the lighthearted side. After all, we’re all happy that it’s hockey season again, and this early in the season there isn’t much of substance to explore. But there’s nothing light about the mood … Read more
There is one fact about the Western Michigan Broncos that nobody can deny: the only place to go for WMU is up. With just eight wins overall and four in league play, the Broncos suffered through their worst year in the program’s history. “We played a number of tough road games last year,” says Bronco … Read more